1st Brisket - disappointing

BiggyDogBreath · September 2010

Son-in-law brought a frozen "1st cut brisket" with him when they came to town this weekend. Must have been just the flat cuz the whole thing was one essentially even piece about 1.5" at its thickest part. Cooked at 250-275 for @two hrs and it got to 165. Began to get pressure to speed up the cook(grandkids getting hungry etc) so I cranked it up higher. Finally got it up to 190.

Nice smoke ring and bark but pretty dry. Not sure how good a piece of meat it was to begin with. Should I have foiled part way thru with some sort of liquid? Injected? Spritzed during cook? Was piece too thin to begin with? Too high an internal temp for a piece that thin?

Will keep trying till I get it right.

Crimsongator · September 2010

Flats are difficult to do by themselves just because they are so thin and not much fat. They tend to dry out and do so as soon as you slice them. Next time, try getting a whole packer (if even a select cut from Walmart or somewhere) that has more fat on it. Leave the whole thing intact and cook it. Go to near 200* when done and see if that works better for you.

61chev · September 2010

I would say you can't hurry brisket without getting it dry espaecially a thin flat 250 dome max on a thin one
then rest in cooler with some liquid for an hour before slicing

TulsaMurph · September 2010

I agree with both posts. I have mostly done whole briskets, but smoked a flat once or twice as well. 2 hours sounds really quick, and you can't cheat on the "Low & Slow"...

Briskets are a little tough to really master in my opinion, but if you start with the whole brisket, figure 12 hours (at least) at 225 or so, then wrap with foil and a meat resting blanket and let it rest for an hour or more before you cut into it. You can put it in an ice chest (no ice, it stays very hot inside) for about 4 hours. This helps you plan your dinner, while giving you some flexibility to keep it on a little longer if necessary.

Dr. Barbecue has a good guide in his cookbook, as I am sure others do as well.

There is a new meat resting blanket available from GrillTenders.com that is a real nice product and perfect for a birthday or Christmas gift. Look for FlavorRest brand, or the handle to ping is LoveMeTender.

Happy Egging!
John

eligeorgia · September 2010

One other issue to be aware of. A brisket truly "tenderizes" when the collagen has time to slow cook and break down to gelatin. This usually happens around the 160-170 range. This is the time to exercise the most patience because the temperature will "plateau" and hold at this range for a while. It's just getting more tender.

Ramping up the temp risks cooking it too fast. Even if you stay at around 250 for the entire cook, you may think you're done at 190, only to test the meat with a fork and it not feel tender enough. At this point you probably need to let it go longer, until it's more tender.

Cooking a whole "packer" gives you the additional "point", which is more fatty and less likely to be dry, but having it connected to your flat won't do anything to improve the result of your flat. It actually just gives you two different cuts to think about. If you cook the point down to "burnt ends", they will probably be the biggest hit of your cook! People go crazy over them.

There are plenty of online resources for cooking a brisket faster, and some people swear by it. I've never tried it.

Don't give up on brisket. I cooked a 15lb whole brisket overnight Sunday/Monday. It barely fit on my large BGE. There was none left by 4PM Monday!

BiggyDogBreath · September 2010

Thanks to all for the replies.I'll keep at it and allow more time next time.

1st Brisket - disappointing

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